


Whiskey Lullaby

by OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor



Series: Naruto Drabbles [30]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, M/M, Suicide, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 06:26:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15113669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor/pseuds/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor
Summary: Kakashi pushes Tenzo away.





	Whiskey Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> Title and inspiration from the song Whiskey Lullaby by Allison Kraus. This is not a happy fic. You have been warned. I'm also very sorry for what I did to Gai.

     “I can’t do this anymore,” Kakashi said.”I’m sorry, Tenzo, I just can’t. I… I need you to leave.” 

     “Ok,” Tenzo’s shoulders slumped as he left the apartment. “Please, Take care of yourself, Kakashi.” He slipped quietly out the door. 

 

***

     “He's in here all the time, now,” Asuma said, nodding toward Tenzo. “Drinks himself senseless every night. He’s your friend, aren’t you worried about him?” Kakashi took a sip of his own drink. 

     “It’s not my job to be worried about him,” he said. 

     “He’s on your  _ team _ ,” Asuma insisted. “As his superior, if nothing else, you should do something about this.” 

     “It’s not my place,” Kakashi said. Asuma huffed in annoyance. 

     “Fine. Have it your way.” 

 

***

     Tenzo was a good operative. He fulfilled his duty to the village,he completed his missions without question. But the few who knew him outside ANBU worried ceaselessly. 

     “I’m pretty sure he’s not eating,” Anko told Gai. “He doesn’t hang out with anyone any more. I’m really worried about him.”

    “I’ll go check on him,” Gai said. “Maybe the power of youth can have a positive influence!” 

    The power of youth wasn’t enough,in the end.cGai knocked on Tenzo’s door, doing his weekly check on the younger man. There was no answer. Frowning, Gai knocked again, louder. Still no response.

     “Tenzo, I’m coming in!” he called. He put his shoulder to the door, breaking the latch easily. 

     “Tenzo?” He called again. Gai moved through the small room,senses on full alert. Tenzo, layon his thin matress, and Gai felt his heart drop into his stomach before he ever got close. As a shinobi, he was no stranger to what death looked like. Even death at the hands of an enemy that wasn’t outwardly visible. He touched Tenzo’s shoulder anyway, finding it stiff and cold. 

    “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more, my friend…”  He reached for the crumpled note beside Tenzo. It only said, _ I still love you.  _

 

***

     They buried Tenzo just outside the cemetery for honorably fallen shinobi. He was denied entrance by the circumstances of his death, despite the fact that he’d given everything in his life to the village. Gai, Anko, and Asuma mourned for him. Kakashi didn’t attend the funeral. There were whispers, but no one pressed him about it. 

 

***

     Kakashi knew about the note. The whole village knew about the note. He knew about the whispers, the questions. Who had Tenzo loved enough that he could no longer bear it? What could push a ROOT trained operative that far? Kakashi knew. Kakashi knew it was all his fault. He knew that he had killed Tenzo, perhaps the only person to ever love him, as surely as if he had taken a kunai to his throat. Kakashi drank more. He took dangerous missions. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing filled the void. Nothing brought Tenzo back. Nothing atoned for the wrong he had done. 

 

***

     “Rival!” Gai called, banging on Kakashi’s door.”Rival, I challenge you!” he waited for a response. His face fell when he heard none.  _ Not again…. _ He thought grimly. He broke Kakashi’s door easily, the sense of deja vu threatening to overwhelm him. He knew what he’d find before he even entered the apartment. Empty whiskey bottles were scattered everywhere. Clutched in Kakashi’s hand was a picture of him and Tenzo, both barely more than kids. Gai sighed deeply. 

     “I’m so sorry it came to this, my rival…”

 

***

    They buried Kakashi next to Tenzo. Anko planted a weeping willow between the graves. 

    “It’s appropriate,” she said, “for forlorn lovers.” 

    “May they have better luck next time around,” Gai said. “Rest well, my friends.”


End file.
